


Of Mice & Madness

by skylaranne_sykes



Category: Of Mice & Men (Band)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-10
Updated: 2014-08-09
Packaged: 2018-02-12 12:57:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2110725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skylaranne_sykes/pseuds/skylaranne_sykes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Theresa's best friend introduces her to her brother, Austin, things don't start out well. As the story goes on, Theresa discovers that Austin is not who she thought he was, and they both have a hard time hiding hiding their love for each other, though it is forbidden. Will Theresa and Austin end up together, or will their love fall through?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Mice & Madness

Theresa was on her way to her flat when Amberly called. She heard giggling on the other end of the line. "Come over, T! I have someone I want you to meet!" Theresa laughed, and said, "Alright Am, I'm coming. Just let me drop by the flat so I can change and grab some things." Amberly said okay and hung up.  
Theresa pulled into her parking space in her brand new 18th birthday present from her parents, a cherry red Mustang GT. She grabs her purse, locks the doors, and walks up to her first story flat, unlocking the door. When she stepped inside, the air conditioning relaxed her and her shoulders became less tense. She slipped out of her purple dress and put on a black and pink floral patterned skater skirt and a tight, black crop top that exposed her cleavage. For shoes, she chose a pair of black cork wedges. Theresa grabbed her Asking Alexandria album off the counter and went back out to her car.  
Once she was sitting down with the engine purring, she popped in the CD. The first song to play was "Not The American Average" and she sang along to every word. When she pulled up in Amberly's driveway (she still lives with her parents), Amberly was in her car with an unfamiliar boy in the driver's seat. "Theresa! We were about to come get you, we thought you'd gotten lost or something!" Amberly was extremely happy, which was common. But she seemed a bit more bright than usual. I parked, and she stepped out of the car to greet me.  
The boy also exited the car. He was tall, with protruding muscles and dark hair. His arms, sides, and neck were covered in tattoos. He was wearing a black muscle shirt with low cut sleeves that read "Create Music" in plain white letters. He also wore blue jeans and black vans.  
"Theresa, this is my older brother, Austin. Austin, this is my best friend Theresa," Amberly was clearly excited to see her brother. She explained why, "Austin's been on a world tour with his band, 'Attack! Attack!'". This made a lot of sense to Theresa. The hair, the shirt, the tattoos... He was a total music type. And totally /not/ her type. The one thing that stood our the most that Theresa had learned was to never, /ever/ love a musician.  
Theresa once dated a boy named Aaron Peterson, a drummer in a punk band called "The Land Of Misfit Toys". He made her fall in love with him and then abused her for a while before he left her and they never spoke another word. Aaron is the one that led Theresa into self-hatred and self-harm. She was utterly heartbroken.  
Amberly squealed and said, "you guys are going to be best friends! This is going to be so much fun!" Oh, so positive, Amberly. Oh, so naive Amberly.  
The three of them, Theresa, Austin, and Amberly, walked into the house and down to the basement where Theresa and Amberly always hang out. "Whoa, you've really redone the place, Am." Austin looked awed. Theresa did what she could to keep his smooth, deep voice from getting to her. "T, sit on the couch with me!" Theresa plopped down on the couch next to Amberly and pulled out her iPhone. Theresa scrolled through Instagram until a photo of Austin holding a microphone with a band behind him. The photo was captioned: "Had a great time at the Attack! Attack! concert. You rock @austincarlile!". Theresa sighed. "So not only is he a singer, he's a popular one, too. How've I never heard of his band?" She thought to herself. She decided to ask him about his music career to break the silence. "So, what type of music does your band play?" Theresa asked. Austin thought for a moment. "Mostly post-hardcore, some metal," He said, sounding satisfied with himself.  
"Really? Because I listen to that stuff but I've never heard of Attack! Attack! Kind of strange isn't it. Because news travels fast in the metal world, yet news of you has not." She sounded as if she was questioning him, but Theresa was truly confused. Then he said, "Well, have you ever heard of Of Mice & Men?" Theresa nodded, "They're one of my favorite bands. Except, well, now that Nolan Mathews is dead I guess I'll have to find a new one." Austin smirked, and Theresa was even more confused about that. "Well, then, you must know that they are replacing their late lead vocalist... With me." Theresa's jaw dropped. There was no way.  
"It's true! I'm so excited for my big brother, he's gonna do so great!" It seemed that Amberly was far more excited than Austin, or maybe he'd just gotten better at hiding it. Nolan Mathews was not only an incredible vocalist, he had also touched the hearts of his fans. Does this 21 year old hot-head have the power to save lives like Nolan did? Theresa doubted it.  
"Well, it's late, and I'm going to head up to bed. You two are welcome to stay up and chat though," Amberly said. Theresa sighed, not wanting to spend any time alone with the brother from hell. Though, she had to admit, he was kind of cute...  
After Amberly had gone up the stairs, Theresa looked over at Austin. He had a smirk on his face, and was seemingly very pleased with himself. "So, what do you do?" Austin asked, almost sincerely. "I, um, work at Evolution. The record store downtown," Theresa said, almost shaky. Austin scooted closer to Theresa, and ran his fingertips up and down the length of her arm. "You know, my sister's probably asleep by now," he said, almost whispering.  
Theresa couldn't deny that the way he made her feel was almost magical, but she also couldn't help but be a bit disgusted by his smugness. For the first time, she looked at his left forearm, which was resting on the back of the couch. It was lined with scars, some that looked dangerously deep and others just scratches. Instantly, Theresa understood Austin. She felt for him, she empathized with him. "What," Austin asked, looking cautious. "Your arm..." Theresa hesitated, then lifted her hand to brush his scars with the tips of her fingers.  
Austin jerked back after a moment. "What do you think you're doing? You know nothing about me or what I've been through, you're just a prissy little rich girl with no idea what it's like to really hurt." His words cut Theresa to the bone, and she pulled up the sleeves of the crop top she was wearing to reveal her shoulders, covered in scars, and also cuts, that needed stitches but would never get them. This silenced Austin. "But... Why?" He asked her, his voice shaky. "I could ask you the same thing," Theresa responded. Austin looked at his lap, his hands shaky and his head hanging low. "Tell me your story, and then I'll tell you mine." Theresa said, smiling sadly.


End file.
